While everyone seems to be naturally talented at making cupcakes, I struggled with them because I was seriously put off by the frosting. The most common method used for frosting, it seems, was to use LOADS of icing sugar and butter. I hated the idea of ingesting so much sugar and so, whenever I attempted at making frosting, I would skimp on the icing sugar. The result of that? Frosting that was waaaay too soft.

I’m not a big fan of chocolate but occasionally, when I meet a good chocolate dessert, I like to celebrate it. Recently, at a dinner at Portico, I tasted some really good chocolate ganache. My friend Vanessa, who did a food tasting at the restaurant when it first opened, told me that the ganache is made using chocolate and water. So, I did what every inquisitive individual would do – I asked the chef for the recipe.

I love the idea of a little treat that you can give to friends or pack into your bag for when you feel peckish. I don’t want to pick at roasted nuts or granola (although I admit there are some really interesting artisanal granola mixes out there) so I’ve decided to make my own “gourmet” popcorn mix. Continue reading →

I love bread but I hate making it. Mainly it’s because I do not have the patience to wait for the dough to rise and then wait for it to rise again. On Saturday night, while lazing on the couch (as I usually do on weekends), Paul Hollywood’s show on bread came up on the BBC. That particular episode introduced this bread called Soda Bread. As it’s name Continue reading →

In Mandarin, pistachios are known as kai-xin-guo (happy nut). The name comes from the fact that the shell on the pistachio is split open in a way it looks like it’s smiling. I love the green and pinkish-red colors of the nut and, of course, its flavor. In many Turkish desserts, the pistachio is often paired with rosewater, like the baklava.

It’s likely that I won’t be selling this unless someone really wants it bad. Preparing this pie took so much work! In fact, my fingernails are all stained red from pitting the cherries.

I went to the supermarket last night for a tub of vanilla ice cream and came home with the ice cream AND two boxes of cherries. I’ve always wanted to make cherry pie and now’s a good a time as any since I’m on this pie-making rampage.

Promoted as Singapore’s first ever authentic farmers’ market, the Kranji Countryside Farmers’ Market featured an exciting lineup of products grown or made locally. Despite the blazing weather, we trooped down to D’Kranji Farm Resort, arriving at the venue at about 4.15pm. The market opened at 4, and by the time we got there, the parking spaces closest to the resort were all taken up.